Should podcasters be unionised?

[tokenuser]

If full time news bloggers are pushing for the same rights as journalists, then shouldn't writers for topical podcasts also be WGA members?

As the online vs traditional mediums blur, are there rights and responsibilities that podcasters should have - and would they need to unionise to receive them?

The current WGA dispute is one aspect of the process, but another is the current news blackout in Pakistan - forcing Pakistani news agencys to broadcast from Dubai or put their content out on the internet.

What rights should an online community have? Should they be equivalent to the rights afforded traditional media?

[masherscf]

I totally misread the subject line.

I thought it read, "Should podcasters be Euthanized?"

I think that if podcasters encounter labor relation issues like other workers they might benifit from organization.

This is sort of a non-issue. For example, nobody questions that autoworkers benifit from organized labor, yet no one suggests that a guy building cars in his garage should be part of a union. Professional podcasters could organize and afflilate with the CWA (Communication Workers of America). The only real question is if the CWA is forward looking enough to recognize the future and not be theatened by it.

People that podcast as a hobby or who are self employed would probably not benifit from Union representation.

[dutch]

I don't think it would be beneficial for podcasters to be unionised. I mean, a majority of them do it for fun and no financial benefits. Having said that I don't think there is a popular podcast that is ONLY available to paying customers. Revision may hold back the release of each new podcast for a few days just for exclusive members, but they always release them for free in the end.

[masherscf]

I disagree.

Although, most podcasts are free of charge and the podcast business is not yet profitable. A preponderance of podcasters hope to build the medium to a point where they can make a living at it.

Podcasters that work for larger media companies could be members of the CWA.

While independent podcasters wouldn't benefit from a traditional Union to help oversee workplace issues, a collective organization or "podcaster's guild" would be useful for providing health insurance and other benefits.

Nevertheless, the podcast business as a whole needs to be more profitable before it can afford the cost of maintaining such a guild. Many independent podcasters would probably rather use any positive cash flow to build their own businesses and not subsidize benefits for less successful ventures.

The whole independent podcast media business is way too immature to justify such an organization.